Drinking vessel

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to drinking vessels and in particular a cup, generally indicated at ( 10 ), comprising an inner liquid reservoir ( 11 ) and an outer splayed wall ( 12 ). The angle X between the reservoir ( 11 ) and the wall ( 12 ) is about 3°. The splayed out wall defines an enlarged based foot print, which both makes the cup stable and contributes to the ability of the cup to restore itself to a vertical position from a significantly titled position.

This invention relates to drinking vessels.

So called “no spill” drinking cups for toddlers, and indeed the veryelderly, have been subject to extensive research and many patents. Thistype of cup has a lid and a drinking spout and some sort of valvingarrangement to prevent liquid coming out of the spout when the cup isinverted or knocked over. As children's dexterity increases, they thentend to progress to an ordinary drinking cup or glass and for the mostpart these are only distinguished by the make of plastics and varyingsuitable motifs. The elderly also prefer to be able to use an ordinarydrinking vessel for as long as possible. Both the young and the elderlyoften have a problem putting the drinking vessel back down onto a tablewith the base parallel to the table top. Instead the edge frequently isthe first part of the vessel to touch and if the vessel is released atthat point, it will usually fall over and spill its contents.

It has been proposed to provide a cup with a weighted base so that themass in the base tends to pull the vessel back into a vertical positionin the manner of the children's weighted toy clown. However, if suchcups are to prevent spilling on the first inclination of the cup, therestoring action has to be rapid and this means that the restoring forceis often large causing over compensation, which leads to the liquidsloping violently in the vessel and can lead to spillages in that way.Further the action is likely to encourage young children to deliberatelytip the vessel.

From a first aspect the present invention consists in a drinking vesselhaving an outer wall and an inner liquid reservoir with an open mouth,wherein the outer wall splays outwardly from the mouth to form a basefootprint of greater area than the mouth the arrangement being such thata vertical line extending downwardly from the centre of gravity of thevessel lies within the base footprint when the vessel is inclined withthe plane of the base footprint at angles of up to about 50 degrees tothe horizontal.

It has been found that by having a base footprint of greater area thanthe mouth and the centre of gravity arranged as defined above, thevessel not only restores itself to its stable position when misplaced atan angle, on its edge, on a table, there is also limited rebound, sothat spills are significantly reduced.

Preferably the bottom of the reservoir is flush with the lower edge ofthe outer wall. This not only maximises the volume that the vessel cancontain and increases stability by ensuring that the weight of theliquid adds to the mass adjacent the base footprint, it also increasesthe sliding friction between the vessel and the surface on which itsits, decreasing the number of accidents that will happen due to thevessel receiving a horizontal force, for example from a flaying arm. Thebottom may be patterned to increase the friction.

The reservoir may narrow towards its bottom and, in one arrangement thereservoir and the wall may be constituted by oppositely sensedfrusto-cones. The opposite tapering is beneficial, because it enablesmoulding in a single tool. In a preferred embodiment the vessel isformed as a single integral moulding. The angle between the outer walland the reservoir may be between 2 and 5 degrees.

The ratio of the area of the mouth to the area of the base may be atleast about 3:4.

The vessel may be a cup and may have a handle.

Although angles of up to 50 degrees can conveniently be reached for theangle between the vertical line and the horizontal when the verticalline passes through the base footprint it will be understood thatgreater angles could be achieved by increasing the area of the basefootprint. Equally, for aesthetic reasons, smaller angles may be anglesand angles of up to 40 or 45 degrees may provide suitable upperinclinations for certain markets.

From another aspect the invention consists in the drinking vessel havinga mouth and the base where the ratio of the area of the mouth to thebase is at least about 3:4 and the vessel has an outer divergent walland an inner liquid reservoir.

Although the invention has been defined above it is to be understood itincludes any inventive combination of the features set out above or inthe following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways and specific embodimentswill now be described, by way of example, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 5 are respectfully a side view, an isometric view, a verticalsectional view turned through 90 degrees, a plan view and a view on thearrow A taken on FIG. 1.

A cup, generally indicated at 10, comprises an inner liquid reservoir 11and an outer splayed wall 12. The inner reservoir 11 tapers towards itsbottom 13 from a mouth 14 a handle 15 is provided, but the design isequally applicable to handleless drinking vessels. The angle x betweenthe reservoir 11 and wall 12 is about 3 degrees.

It will be understood that the splayed outer wall 12 defines an enlargedbase footprint, which not only makes the cup 10 extremely stable againstblows to its side wall or handle when it is sitting on a table, it alsocontributes significantly to the ability of the cup to restore itself toa vertical position from a significantly tilted position. This isbecause the use of the double wall arrangement in which the reservoir 11extends downwardly so that the bottom 13 is substantially level with thefree edge of the wall 12, means that the centre of gravity of the cup ishighly centralised and low within the cup so that a vertical lineextending downwardly from the centre of gravity will pass through thebase footprint even when the plane of the base footprint is at angles ofup about 50 degrees to the horizontal. This means that the cup willrestore itself in most situations where the user misplaces it on thetable, although it will not prevent deliberate spillage.

In the current embodiment the ratio of the area of the mouth to the areaof the base footprint is about 3:4. If the base footprint is increased,the stability will increase, but aesthetically it is believed that thisproportion is about the best compromise between looks and functionality.

1. A drinking vessel having an outer wall and an inner liquid reservoirwith an open mouth wherein the outer wall splays outwardly from themouth to form a base footprint of greater area than the mouth, thearrangement being such that a vertical line extending downwardly fromthe centre of gravity of the vessel lies within the base footprint whenthe vessel is inclined with the plane of the base footprint at angles ofup to about 50° to the horizontal.
 2. A vessel as claimed in claim 1wherein the bottom of the reservoir is flush with the lower edge of theouter wall.
 3. A vessel as claim in claim 1 wherein the reservoir narrowtowards its bottom.
 4. A vessel as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wallsof the reservoir are constituted by oppositely sensed frusto-cones.
 5. Avessel as claimed in claim 1 wherein there is an angle of 2° and 5°between the outer wall and the reservoir.
 6. A vessel as claimed inclaim 1 formed as a single integral moulding.
 7. A vessel as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the vessel is a cup with a handle.
 8. A vessel asclaimed in claim 1 wherein ratio to the area of the mouth to the area ofthe base is at least about 3:4.
 9. A vessel as claimed in claim 1wherein the vertical line passes through the base footprint at angles ofinclination up to 40° or 45°.
 10. A drinking vessel having a mouth andan base wherein the ratio of the area of the mouth to the base is atleast about 3:4 and the vessel has an outer divergent wall and an innerliquid reservoir.